The City of Light
by be-you-tiful23
Summary: The whole gang moves to Baltimore when Jocelyn offers a clue for Sebastian's whereabouts. At the Institute, Clary meets a Shadowhunter who is giving her mixed signals and tries to ignore him. Multiple times, Sebastian tries to take Clary and she finds out that he has Ragnor Fell. He tells her to follow the light, could it mean that they're in the city of light?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to the wonderful Cassie Clare!**

* * *

_The Baltimore Washington International airport is so huge. What if Sebastian really was here. How would we ever find him?_ Clary thought to herself as she waited for her bags. Just two days before, Clary got an email from her mother.

_My dear Clary,_

_ I hope this note finds you well, I miss you lots! In Baltimore, Luke and I have found a clue as to Jonathan's whereabouts. Please come ASAP!_

_xoxo, Mom_

Clary took the next flight into Baltimore, which so happened to be late at night. Simon, Maia and Jordon insisted on coming along. Alec decided to wait for Jace and Isabelle to return from their assignment in London. There were some Shax demons that none of the other Brits could kill.

Maia looked peaceful taking a short nap on Jordon's shoulder while he and Simon talked animatedly about band names.

"I'm telling you, Sour Patch Kids sounds killer!" Simon whisper-shouted, trying not to disturb Maia.

Jordon, not convinced, rolled his eyes. "It makes us sound like five year olds! We need to make a good first impression and Sour Patch Kids," he said, putting air quotes with the band name, "is not going to make a good one."

Luke's head was bobbing up and down as he was trying not to fall asleep, but when he saw the last of our bags, he moved forward and lifted it easily off the conveyor belt.

"Okay kids, let's go." he grunted.

"So where are we staying?" Jordon asked as they all piled into Luke and Jocelyn's car.

"Well, our apartment would never fit all of you comfortably, so I contacted the Baltimore Institute and made arrangements with them. Maia and Jordon will be staying at our place, but the rest of you, and Isabelle, Jace, and Alec when they come, will be staying in the Institute." Jocelyn explained.

"You'll probably meet my nephew, he's here." Luke added as he looked in the rearview mirror.

* * *

Clary rubbed her eyes and groaned as she woke up from her little nap. She saw the doors to the Baltimore Institute. It looked pretty similar to the one in New York. She felt a pang in her chest as she remembered Jace. It felt like forever since she had been wrapped in his arms.

"C'mon, guys. We're here." Luke said as he unloaded the trunk. "We're dropping off Clary and Simon first."

I give Luke and Mom a hug before Simon and I leave.

"I love you." She whispers in my ear.

"Don't worry, Mom. I'll visit tomorrow after we get settled in." I reassure her as I make my way to the huge door of the Institute.

Simon knocked twice. "Are you sure this is the right place?" I remember that he can't see what it really is because of the glamour.

"The glamour'll fade when you go inside." I tell him

A young man opened the door. He was about Simon's height, with brown hair cut short. His green eyes scanned over all of us, lingering on mine.

"Welcome to Baltimore," He says with a smile and a British accent. "Please, do come in."

I turn around to wave to my Luke and Mom one last time, but they already left. Someone's excited. I take Simon's hand and walk in.

"I'm Aiden Graymark, Luke's nephew. Make yourselves at home." He tells us as he leads us towards the residental wing. Another boy, about Jace's height, walks in but stops immedietly seeing Simon.

He gives me an incredulous look. "You brought a _mundie_ to the Institute?"

I stare at him. Arrogant bastard. Who was he to tell us what to do? "Yes. Why? Do you have a... _problem _with that?"

He stares back. "Yes, _little girl_. I have a big person problem. I don't expect you to understand, though." He crouches down and is only five or so inches shorter than me. "You see, we, Shadowhunters, do not-" I slapped him hard across the face and his mouth forms into a perfect 'O'.

"Do not ever call me little girl. But please continue on, Aiden. I am tired and wish to rest." I say as I turn.

"Gladly." Aiden laughs.

Simon and I hold hands as we follow Aiden to our rooms.

Aiden's loud guffaws echoed on the walls of the empty halls. "I ... I can't believe you did that Oh! His face..." He sighs happily and turns to us. "My parabatai, Julian, is a cocky arrogant womanizer that I suggest you stay away from if you wish to keep your sanity. He's a bloody nuisance, but I love him all the same.",

"So you're both from London?" Simon asks.

"Nay, my family is friends with Julian's and he visited frequently. We spent most holidays together. He grew up in Baltimore here until his parents... passed. Then he came to live with me."

_"A ydych yn rhoi i ffwrdd bob un o'n cyfrinachau?" _I hear Julian's deep voice behind me and decide to ignore him. Not like I could understand him anyways. I'm about to ask what he said, but then Aiden smirks, and I remember what he said before. _He probably said something extrememely perverted. Boys._

"We're here." Aiden stops by three doors.

"We have three rooms for you guys. One for the girls, one for the Lightwoods and one for the ... mundie." Julian spits.

"Thank you Aiden." I say as I go into my room. "Good night Simon."

"Don't let the bed bugs bite." He mutters as he walks in a mummy-like trance towards his room.

* * *

I wash my face and change into a tank top and some shorts and lay down on the bed. I missed Jace and his tall body and long arms and warm embrace. I felt empty without him and Izzy, like a part of my heart is missing. Julian reminded me of him, his sarcasm and his shoulder lengthed hair. Julian's was black, like the depths of his soul. I loathed that insolent boy with all of my being. I screamed into my pillow. Why couldn't Sebastian just accidentally run into a wall and crack his skull? My life was so complicated.

A knock interupts my thinking and I hear an evil voice. "Someone wants to see you... _if you're not sleeping_." He adds.

I grab a pillow and throw it at the door. "I _was_ until _you _woke me up." That wasn't true, but it could have been.

Julian opens the door and I prepare to throw another pillow at him until I see who's standing next to him. I drop my pillow and squeal as I run over to my angel.

* * *

**_"A ydych yn rhoi i ffwrdd bob un o'n cyfrinachau?": Are you giving away all our secrets?_**

**Fyi, I'm writing it in later, but for the record Julian is 6'2" and "he has blue eyes with a ring of yellow around the iris. His hair is wavy and rests just above his shoulders." (Chapter 4)**


	2. Chapter 2

As I run towards Jace, he morphs into Sebastian, who laughs at me. I freeze, as if Doofenshmirtz used one of his -inators on me.

"I've missed you, little sister." He grins evilly. "Next time, you won't be so lucky as to escape my grasp. I've got a place _especially_ for you." He takes a step forward

My gaze slips back to Julian who doesn't do anything to stop him. He just stands there, but where his face should be is blank. And then I blink and then his face turns into Ragnor Fell.

"Claaarryy. You neeed to fiiiinnnd mee." His voice sounds distant and shaky, like a bad phone connection. "The liiiiight, fooolloow the liiiight..." Sebastian looks annoyed at Ragnor and snaps his fingers. He falls on the ground writhing in agony and soon disappears.

Sebastian is standing in front of me now. "How did you do that? Where is Ragnor? Is he okay?" I demand. "You... you _monster!_"

He has an amused grin on his face, as if I'm a little child throwing a tantrum. "Little sister, I shall tell you all in good time. But for now, come with me."

Sebastian takes me by the arm and leads me to my window. He opens it and sticks his head outside to look around.

"Okay, Clarissa." This is the first time he's called me by my real name. "Cooperate with me, okay? We're going to jump out of this window."

"J-j-jump?" I stutter, not beliving my ears. He couldn't be serious, I would break literally every bone in my body!

He turns to stare at me, the incredulity clear on his face. "No, we're going to fly off into the sunset with our unicorns and eat butterflies. Yes, we're going to jump!"

"Well, it's in the middle of the night, so there's not sunset." I point out.

He rolls his eyes and in that moment, I feel almost as if we're really brother and sister, teasing each other to no end. But then he pushes me out of the window and that feeling soon disappears with my dinner.

Somehow he gets to the ground before I do and he catches me in his arms. We fall into the mud and I throw up on his shoes. I feel someone shaking my shoulders and hear a faint voice yelling my name. I turn, bewildered, but no one is behind me. Sebastian eyes grow wide and he scrambles up, ignoring my puke on his shoes, and runs away.

Suddenly I feel faint as I feel the cold hard ground touch my face. I_f the grass wanted to say hello, it could have been much gentler, _I think before everything goes black.

**I'm going to camp tomorrow so I won't be able to write anything for a week! Sorry! :D**


	3. Chapter 3

When I open my eyes again, I see a face. It had big, electric blue eyes lined with worry. Julian. His red, full lips were moving, talking to me, but I tuned him out. His cheeks were flushed, as if he'd been running. He had long hair framing his face. Shorter than Jace's, but longer than Simon's.

"...and I didn't know what to do..." I tune him out again, and resort to studying his face again. "...no girls, so I woke Simon, not that he's a girl..." he babbles. "...called an Isabelle and I think a Jace is coming too." This catches my attention.

I sit up straight. I'm in a bed in a long, white room with beds lining the two walls. An infirmary. "Jace? He's coming?" I ask before everything spins again.

Julian rolls his eyes as he gently pushes me back down. "What? Is he your boyfriend?"

I sit back up, slower this time. "Yes, in fact, he is. And Isabelle is my _parabatai_." At this Julian's eyes harden and his face is void of emotions. I reach up to touch his cheek and stare into his eyes.

"Your eyes are so pretty, like a white tiger's." I mumble. "So pretty..."

He pushes me back down into the bed. "You're delirious, it's the medicine. Go back to sleep, Clarissa." My last thoughts revolve around what he called me. No one really ever called me Clarissa besides Valentine and sometimes Mom.

* * *

I wake, squinting to clear my vision. I heard a conversation and saw two blurry figures standing by the door talking animatedly.

"So what exactly happened?" Someone hissed. A girl's voice.

The other figure shrugged blatantly. "I just found her in a mud puddle and there was a man running away. He had this white-blond hair. Then I looked back to Clary and she fainted. I carried her to the infirmary and then Simon came in and called her _parabatai_ and so she and Clary's boyfriend are coming... with their brother."

"I don't get why anyone would want to be her _parabatai_. She's so dirty." The girl snorted.

"That's where you come in. You clean her."

"Julian!" She whined. "I thought you would want to see her naked. It's not like you would be uncomfortable, you've seen naked girls before."

I snort and they turn to look at me, both of their faces red with embarrassment. "I'm not five you know, I can clean myself. Just show me to the bathroom."

The girl comes over to my bed and says quietly, "Come on, we can use your bathroom." She has short brown hair cut to just above her shoulders. Her green eyes scan mine, looking for what? Anger, forgiveness?

I get up and we walk towards Julian, still standing by the door. "Thanks," I say to him. He shrugs his shoulders and averts his eyes.

When we're in the hallway I hear Julian come out of the infirmary door and storm away in the opposite direction.

The girl raises her eyebrows at me. "What did you do to Julian? He's only been here a week, but he never acts like that. He's a cocky, big-headed, know-it-all."

"Oh." I say. "Well, he was like that last night." Her eyes grow to the size of Mom's cooking pans and my do too. "No, no, no! We arrived last night!"

She visibly relaxed. "He acts like a total player, but I don't think he is. By the way, I'm Shayenne, call me Shay. You're Clary, Valentine Moregenstern's daughter."

"Glad to know that's how I'm remembered." I mutter under my breath.

"Oh no," She says cheerfully. "That's just how I remember you." I was going to strangle this girl.

She ignores my murderous looks and glances at me. "You know, I thought you'd be prettier. After all, you and Jace are together. But you are really short."

Yep. I was going to strangle this chick.

"We're here!" I say loudly, trying to cover up her annoying rambling. I open the door and find Isabelle sitting on my bed, unpacking my clothes. I run to her with outstretched arms expecting a hug but Izzy puts my hands down at my sides.

She gives me a look of disbelief. "We came straight from the Institute, not even packing. And this is what you repay me with?" She shoots me a death glare as she holds up jeans and t-shirts. That's Izzy for you.

I shrug. "I was waiting for you so we could go shopping."

She rolls her eyes. "Yeah right." I hug her tightly.

"Can't... breathe..." she coughs. I let her go and we both laugh. I've missed her so much.

Shay clears her throat. "I, um, I'll just go..." She scrambles quickly out of our room. Izzy raises her eyebrows.

"She's just one of the people here." I tell her. "She's really sweet, but talks a lot."

"Okay, so Alec brought Magnus and he talked to Ingrid and she's the head of this Institute and she said we could have a little party with everyone here!" Izzy gushes, Shay long forgotten.

"So," I reply calmly. "You want to dress me up."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Izzy squeals. "You're not allowed to see Jace until the party so I have to make you perfecto!"

I'm pretty sure my eyes bulge out of my head. "_What?! _I haven't seen my boyfriend for three weeks and now we're in the same building, hell, the same hallway _and I can't see him?"_

Izzy raises her hands in mock surrender but then we hear a crash in the adjoining room.

"_I want to see her, Alec!" _I hear Jace roar. _"Magnus, I demand you let me out of this... this thing! Now!" _We hear another crash.

"If you must know, it's called a tux. Many men wear it to look handsome, but you'd think that it was a straightjacket the way that you're acting. Children." You could hear Magnus complain._  
_

Izzy just drags me towards the mirror and gets out her makeup bag. "Don't worry, I did bring some clothes."

I sigh. Like that was going to reassure me. "I guess you can do my makeup, Izzy." I tell her as she already starts putting on my foundation.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: All characters (besides Julian, Aiden, Shay, etc.) belong to Cassie Clare. **

**Thanks for waiting for so long, if anyone is still reading this... I've been busy with school and homework and all that jazz. Anyway, here you go, please review and let me know what you would like to see in the following chapters. Also, read the A/N below and answer it please!**

* * *

Isabelle, Shay, and I walk into the "party room." Izzy dressed me in a short emerald green dress that matched my eyes. She wore a blue crop top and skirt set and the blue brought out her eyes. We were on a balcony overlooking a grand ballroom. There were two stories of windows and intricate gold designs on the walls. Two crystal chandeliers, lit with real candles, hang suspended above our heads.

Two staircases cut off from our view on the balcony. I take the right and Izzy the left. At the bottom, my handsome prince is waiting for me. He looks stunning in his tux. Magnus must have gotten to him because Jace's hair is gelled to the side. I ruffle his hair with my hand, liking the messy look better.

"Mmm," Jace murmurs in my ear as he slips an arm around my waist, taking me towards the dance floor. "I've missed you so much, Clary."

I put my arms around his neck and his go around my waist as we move to the music. "I've missed you too." I breath in his cologne. He smelled like something out of a jungle, very tropical. "I love you so much, Jace. I don't know what I'd do without you." I smile up at him and his smile is stunning. I look at the slight chip in his incisor. His imperfections made him even more perfect.

"Clary, Clary, Clary." I love the way Jace says my name, how it rolls off his tongue perfectly. "After this dance, I have a feeling we're going to need to get fresh air and accidentally get lost in this _huge_ Institute that is built _nothing _like ours."

I laugh, glad to have my Jace back.

"May I have the next dance?" A low voice questions. All humor drains from Jace's eyes and they harden. I turn and find Julian standing behind me, waiting for an answer. I felt bad for him, about to get knocked down by Jace but I wanted to spend time with Jace.

"No." Jace growls, his eyes narrowing. His eyes scan over Julian's body like a predator scanning his prey. Julian returns his glare and starts to walk away.

"Wait." I say. I give Jace a quick peck on the lips and then start walk over to Julian.

"What are you doing?" Jace hisses.

"Just one dance." I shrug and start to walk away. Jace grabs my hand and jerks me towards him. I glare at him. "_Ow _Jace! I'm a big girl." I say slowly. "I can do what I want."

"I've seen him somewhere." Jace murmurs. "He's not good for you, Clary." This set me off.

"I told you Jace, I can take care of myself." I say, letting a little venom creep into my voice, immedietly regreting it when his face fell.

"Are you ever going to dance with me?" I turn to Julian and take his hand. "Trouble in paradise?"

"Shut up." This ends any chances of civil conversation we'll ever have during this dance.

"Make me, or I guess I never will." He smirks that stupid smirk. It's like Jace's, but his says more "I know I'm so much better than you." Which he totally is not.

"I don't kiss jerks. And you are su-"

"Oh, so you and Jace haven't kissed yet. I don't think you ever will actually." He says acting as if this intrigued him. "And I never said anything about kissing. But if you insist..."

Enraged, I stomp on his foot. "How dare you? You are a sexist pig and you deserve-"

"I deserve what?" He whispers in what I think he thinks is a seductive voice.

"I think you're losing your voice, it's getting raspy."

"Hmm," Julian observed. "It seems your boyfriend there is busy." Julian take my hand and spins me. He holds his arm around my front and my breath hitches. I see Jace talking with another woman. She's absolutely beautiful. Her skin is the color of a warm cappuccino. Her hair is the jet black and flows perfectly down her back. She was absolutely gorgeous. I felt a stab of jealousy when Jace touches her hair, remembering how he does the same to me, but I pushed that... that feeling down. I couldn't control Jace, I would just have to trust him.

Nonetheless, my hands clench and my vision turns a little red at the edges. I move myself back to our normal dancing position. To distract myself, I study Julian's face. He stares back down at me and he hasn't said one word. I'm mesmerized by eyes. They are electric blue with a slight golden ring around the iris. His wavy brown hair is the color of warm chesnuts and it rests above his shoulders.

"Sorry if my dancing isn't good enough for you. Would you rather be with loverboy?" What's he takling about? He was actually not half bad. British people and their dancing. "I actually took a dancing class when I was younger." He says, as if reading my mind.

"Yeah, I think I took ballet when I was younger too." I joke, expecting him to deny the fact that he did ballet, but his cheeks just redden slightly. I gasp. "No way! You do ballet?"

"Did." He corrects me. I start to giggle. "Stop!" He fake whispers. "People will no longer see me as a badass punk dude, I'll be a petty British boy!" I burst out into laughtner, unable to stop and he laughs along with me. Then I feel a tap on my shoulder.

"I think your dance is over, Jacob. I'll have to take my _girlfriend_ away." He put an emphasis on the girlfriend part.

"Julian." He says in a deadly quiet voice. "And you are...?"

"Your worst nightmare if you ever touch Clary."

"He's got a temper." I explain as I lead him away. "What was that?" I hiss at Jace once Julian was out of earshot.

"I don't like him." Jace says stiffly.

Rolling my eyes I tell him, "Well that's obvious. I might not argue with you on that one, though."

"Yeah just... just stay away from him, Clare. I just don't have a good ... feeling about it."

"Aren't women supposed to be the ones with intuition?"

"Women are also the ones who make damn good sandwiches." Jace tells me while leading me to the snack table. I laugh, thankful that he's back to himself. "Let me introduce you to someone." Remembering the girl from before, I stiffin. But before Jace can introduce me, there's a loud crash and a large creature crashes through the window and staggers, but stays in the air. Screams erupt from the kitchen area and I see a middle-aged woman take a step forward with her seraph blade in front of her.

* * *

**Story Notes:  
****The "trouble in paradise?" is from Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead. Rose and Liss are arguing when Mia comes up and is all "trouble in paradise?" *cue dramatic music* lol anyways, the loverboy part is from somewhere, I think the Hunger Games. If any of you guys knows, you can PM me or comment.**

**Dun dun dunnn! Who is the magical middle-aged lady? Only time will tell, my children. Hahaha but thanks for waiting so long (if I still have people reading this). I've been busy and it's still summer. Imagine during school... Oh the horrors.**

**Would you rather have longer chapters and longer waits or shorter chapters and shorter waits? It all depends on how much homework I have and my schedule.**

**xx.**


	5. Chapter 5

Her black hair was streaked with gray, telling us of her older age, but she still fought with a firey fierceness that contradicted it.

"Come on." Jace shouted over all of the commotion. He took two blades out from under a lamp on the wall.

_"Castiel, Gabriel._" He named the two blades and they glowed, ready to kick some demon butt. But as I turned towards the beast I could tell it was no demon. Its wings looked distinctly like angel wings but its body was far from an angel. It had two heads and on each of its fingers were long claws, probably about a foot long. I see a flash of blonde jump on the monster's back but before I can recognize the person, a voice cuts into my thoughts.

"Clary! Clary, you have to get out of here!" Julian came running up towards me and Jace. I turn to look at Jace, but he seems to have already left. He must have been the flash of blonde on the monster's back. I turn and lo and behold, it's my boyfriend. The monster shrugs him off and Jace falls down but lands on his feet at the last moment. I breathe a sigh of relief.

"I'm sorry, Julian, I can't talk now." I absent mindedly say as I start towards Jace.

Julian grabs my wrist. "No, Clary, it's not safe, go with the kitchen staff."

I close my eyes and take deep breaths. "Are you downgrading me to kitchen staff? I am perfectly capable of defending myself. And for your information you're-" Something hard and sharp grabs me around the waist and I'm lifted into the air. I turn around and I see a big eye the size of Mom's cooking pan. The monster's eyes were pitch black, it had no pupils. I stand still, not even trying to kick and scream, knowing that that'll make him even angrier.

I think back to when I saw Jace on its back. He tried stabbing it with a seraph blade but it just bounced right off of him. The other Shadowhunters tried setting him on fire with the candles but that didn't work either. It only seemed to make him stronger. That meant that he was a creature of heaven, they used fire. Why they would have a huge monster I have no idea, but I distinctly remember Jace telling me that the fire of heaven can't be put out.

_"The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not go out. Leviticus 6:12." Jace recited._

_"Leviti-who?"_

_He laughed at me. __"It's one of the books in the Bible. It's saying that nothing can put out heavenly fire."_

So if he couldn't be killed with our weapons, I would have to trick him.

"Hey you! Monster!" I shout in his face. One of his heads turns towards me growls at me. _This might be a good time to shut up._

"Lightbulb." I mutter. Jace taught me how to escape from the sleeper hold. Maybe this was the same... just around my waist. I snuggle my arms under the monster's claws and I remember I had a dagger in my boot. I stick the dagger in the sensitive part of its skin, where the claw comes out of its finger.

The monster squeals and its grip loosens, but it doesn't let go completely. I have a bit of wriggle room so I squirm out of its hand and then I start falling. Yeah, I didn't really think about that part.

I see the ground approaching at a really, _really_ fast rate and I brace myself for the fall. I land in a pair of arms but the impact of my fall sets us both tumbling on the ground. I open my eyes and see that it's Julian. I suck in a breath, I'm on top of him and his arms are wrapped around me. I can see every inch of his face. He has light freckles dotting his nose and his eyes look even more blue up close. His cheeks are flushed, probably from fighting and he looks-No! I mentally kick myself. I love Jace, he's my soul mate, my forever.

"Oh God, Clary, are you alright?" Speak of the devil... or half-angel. I climb out of Julian's arms and run into Jace's. I hug him tightly around his shoulders and he lifts me up and spins me. I hear him take in a breath and laugh nervously. "I saw you up there and I was so scared. Julian told me about Sebastian. I think he was behind this attack."

"It's okay, Jace." He finally lets me down. "Remember when you said that nothing could put out heavenly fire? It was that one night we spent in the library before you left."

He nods. "And our seraph blades didn't work."

"Which means it was a creature from heaven." We say simultaneously.

"Great minds think alike." I stated.

"But I'm sure mine thinks better, because I'm thinking of what I could do to you tonight-"

"-if we didn't have to clean-up everything." Julian interrupts.

Jace's smile turns into a stiff, forced one. "Okay, Jared. We'll ask Marian with what she needs help with."

"No, she's in the infirmary, Aiden's in charge. And it's Julian. But Aiden wants you to investigate the, um, creature. He thinks_ your_ _Sebastian_ is behind this and you know him better." He informs us, emphasizing the Sebastian part as if we were at fault for his nonsense. "It seemed to be after Clary. After she fell out of its arms, it ran away."

"He is not _our_ Sebastian, we hate that sick bastard as much, if not more, than you do." Jace snaps.

Julian turns to leave but I grab his wrist. "Thanks." I mumble. "Thanks for... uh, catching me."

"Ahem." Jace clears his throat awkwardly. "Yeah, thanks. A lot."

A ghost of a smile crosses Julian's lips before he turns to leave. And in that split second before his face disappears from our sight, his exhaustion shows. His eyelids are drooping from lack of sleep. He looks stressed, and the corners of his mouth drops into a deep scowl. I almost reach out a hand, as if I could give him some of my energy and make him look more... alive.

* * *

"Umph." I fall onto my bed, feeling like a piece of jello. "My arms are so floppy and my legs are killing me!" I complain as Izzy come out of the bathroom.

She frowns at me. "You really need to train harder. I'm perfectly fine and even Ingrid is too."

"First," I point out, sitting up. "I'm already training hard enough. And second, who in the Angel's name is Ingrid?" I hoped it wasn't that exotic girl that Jace was talking to.

"She's the head of this Institute. She's a Herondale so that means she's somehow related to Jace. I'm guessing his great-aunt. She's pretty old."

"But did you see how she fought? She was probably better than me!"

"Uh yeah, everyone's better than you, Clary." Isabelle grins as she runs back into the bathroom before I can do anything. I try to get up but groan. Every muscle in my body was hurting. I'm telling you, falling from like 5000 feet and then having to clean up is hard work.

Eventually I change into my pj's and try to go to sleep. I hear Isabelle snoring lightly and I decide to head to the kitchen to get a midnight snack. I open our door slowly and it creaks. Wincing, I tiptoe towards the kitchen hoping that no one heard it.

Opening the freezer, I see a variety of ice cream. Mint chocolate chip. That was my all-time favorite ice cream flavor.

"I'd never peg you to be a mint chocolate chip kinda girl." I jump in my chair then turn around to face Julian. "What are you doing here?" I ask, startled, while slowly lowering my spoon. Hiding evidence, of course.

"I could ask the same for you. Ice cream?"

I raised both my hands in surrender. "Guilty as charged."

He laughs a deep, throaty laugh, quite unlike Jace's. "I heard your door creaking and I thought I could maybe use some water."

"Say it again, water."

"Water." He draws it out, looking at me strangely.

I point a finger at him, accusingly. "You say it like _woot-_er. It's_ wa_-ter."

Chuckling, he tells me, "Not in this house, darlin'."

"Well you're all wrong." I say pointedly.

"Come on, it's you New Yorkers who think that everything revolves around them." He insists. "But here, you're standing in the middle of the greatest city in the US."

"Puh-lese. No one has ever heard of Baltimore."

"Have you?"

"Only because of Luke. He talks a lot about Aiden." I say. "Whatever. I need to sleep."

I get up and put the ice cream and my spoon away, feeling his troubling gaze on me the whole time.

"What about I take you and your friends to dinner at the Inner Harbor tomorrow night? There is a great Mediterranian restaurant right by the Harbor."

"Uh, sure. I'll ask them."

As I was walking back, I was thinking about what Shay told me earlier. Julian was supposed to be some arrogant bastard, but we actually had a civil conversation that I enjoyed. Maybe there was more to him than I thought. He reminds me of Jace, the arrogant act and dark past.

* * *

**Hey I hope you liked this chapter, please review! I changed somethings in the beginning chapters so be sure to reread that.**

**What's your favorite ice cream flavor? I love love love mint chocolate chip!**

**Haha, Castiel! Anyone else like Supernatural? I don't even watch it but I love it (if that's even possible). I see a lot of gifs and stuff on tumblr. #winchesterbrothers :)**

**Thanks so much, I just saw that I got like 40-something follows! I didn't actually think anyone was reading it so that made me really happy :) PM me or write on the reviews anything you want me to add, any suggestions or something. I really appreciate every review I get, good or bad.**

**Have any of you guys seen TMI in theaters? What did you think of it? I saw it with my best friend a few days after it came out and we were excessively fangirling :)**

**thank you loves xx.**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm going on a sort of semi-hiatus because I'm really super busy with school and I never have any time to write on the weekdays and on the weekends I do homework... ****And then I couldn't log onto Fanfiction for like a week because my old computer was going bonkers, but I had already written a bit, so I tried to make it up to you by having a long chapter :) It's over 2000 words, I think my others were just 1000-some. **

**FYI, I changed the description thing, like the summary, whatever you call it.**

**Happy reading, disclaimer at the bottom of the sea...**

* * *

"Hey, Izzy," I said in the morning as we were getting ready. "Julian invited everyone to go eat dinner tonight at this Mediterranean restaurant or something."

"Thur bu eh goon ash thimon." Izzy tried to say with a mouthful of toothpaste.

"Um whatever you said, I'm pretty sure I would say okay."

"Sure, but I'm gonna ask Simon to come too." She repeated. "But I don't think Julian likes him very much."

I agreed. "He's going to have to suck it up. Simon is my best friend and he's going to come whether Julian likes it or not."

"Good girl." Iz said. "I sound like I'm talking to a dog." Looking slyly at me she added, "Well I technically am."

My mouth dropped open. "Are you calling me a bitch?"

"You're my bitch, girl!" Izzy screams as she runs out of our room in her pajamas. Rolling my eyes, I finish brushing my teeth and put on a robe, too lazy to change into people clothes.

When I walk towards the dining room, I hear chattering voices. As I near the table, I see the middle-aged woman from the other night. Was she the head, Ingrid, that Izzy was talking about? The one related to Jace?

"I'm Ingrid Herondale, the head of this Institute. I hear that you're Clarissa Morgenstern." Ingrid introduces herself at the breakfast table.

"Clarissa Fray." I correct coldly. Valentine was just my sperm donor, he was nothing to me and I wanted to do nothing with him.

"Yes, I hear you're taking your mother's surname."

I'm about to snap at her when Jace walks in with his tousled hair and pure perfection. "Morning beautiful."

"Thanks." Shay answers as she bats her eyelashes. Bitch, he's mine.

Jace laughs and I feel a prick of jealousy. He walks over and places an arm around my chair and I relax. Jace still loved me and I him. Right? Duh.

"Have you met my aunt yet?" Jace asks me. "Ingrid is my father's sister and Shay is my cousin." I breathe a sigh of relief. No matter how flirtacious Shay was with Jace, they could never be together. Well, cousins are nothing compared to our "sibling incest". Whatever.

"Yeah, they're... really nice." I say the first adjective that I can think of. To my surprise, Ingrid lets out a laugh. I love the way it sounds, the way it invites you in. She reminds me of those grandmothers who are just so motherly that you feel so loved and accepted.

"We got off on a bad foot. I'm sorry I called you a Morgenstern, but I wasn't really sure what else to call you." Ingrid apologizes.

"That's okay, I'm sort of moody in the morning anyways."

Isabelle snorts into her cereal. "If you had morning sickness and cravings I would think you were pregnant."

We all laugh and Julian walks in. "What'd I miss?" He asks, narrowing his eyes.

That just sets me off again and then everyone starts laughing at me and we start all over again.

* * *

"Kali's Court?" Simon asks, sounding skeptical.

"Yeah, it's the best Mediterranian restaurant I've ever been to." Aiden assures us.

"You don't live anywhere near the Mediterranian Sea." Jace points out.

"Julian takes me here everytime. I'm sure you'll love it."

"I've never had Mediterranian. Is it good? How do you even spell it?" Izzy asks absentmindedly. Julian ignores all of our conversation and walks toward the hostess.

"Reservation for 6:30."

"Last name?" She perks up once Julian talks to her and bats her eyelashes at him. Her face is round and she has a lot of makeup on. Her mascara is smeared and her foundation is cracking. Basically, our hostess is one hot mess.

Julian hesitates and opens his mouth to speak, but then Aiden interupts him. "Graymark. I think he put my name. Graymark, Aiden?"

The hostess taps a few buttons on her computer screen and then puts and arm out towards the restaurant. "Follow me, please."

Warily, Jace goes in after her, looking around for any possible threats. If something could get into the Institute, then why not a restaurant? I take his hand and I feel him relax beside me. We walk, hand in hand, up the stairs.

"My God, this place smells good." Simon remarks.

* * *

"That... was... so good." Simon groans as he rubs his stomach.

Izzy rolls her eyes. "You ate so much, I'm not even sure how you're alive." We walk out of the restaurant and onto the sidewalk

"Let's take a walk, my mom used to always make us do that after we ate a lot." Aiden suggests. We walk until we reach a small square. Going out from each side were old stone roads. Dotting the roads were small shops and bars. In the square, there was an old man playing the accordion. His deep, rumbling voice reminded me of Luke's. I missed him and Mom. I should probably check in with them to let them know that I'm not dead or something.

"Mmm... Sugar and spice and everything nice." Jace murmurs as he sniffs my head. I take his arm and put it around my shoulder and look up at him. He was so beautiful. That smile just made me fall in love with him all over again. His golden eyes, the color of warm honey, oh I just melted into them every time I looked at him.

I leaned into him and smile. "What about some shopping?"

He throws his head back and groans just as Isabelle squeals and claps her hands excitedly. "Yes, yes, yes! That is the most genius idea ever! I know this awesome shop nearby, it's like two blocks away!"

Simon gives Aiden a sidelong glance when he laughs at Jace. "Dude, you won't be laughing ten hours, fifty dressing rooms, and six hundred shopping bags later." At this, his face grows somber and it's Julian's turn to laugh.

"C'mon, Izzy! We just ate, you can't possible have the heart to make us carry your shopping bags and wait for you for seventy hours." Simon complains, getting down on his knees to beg.

"Oh, yes! I will, I will marry you, Simon!" Izzy mouths to an elderly couple, _We're getting married!_

The woman smiles at Simon and Izzy and takes a picture of them on her outdated camera.

Simon looks horrified and gets up. "N-no, we're not getting ma-married! No, n-n-no! We-we're just going out!"

Her eyes narrow and she comes over and starts hitting Simon with her handbag and scolding him in another language. Her husband had to drag her away, but he was also yelling at Simon. Jace doubled over, laughing so hard. Aiden slaps Simon on the back, who looks traumatized.

Izzy grabs my hand and drags me towards a small shop. We were hit by a blast of AC when we entered and I was momentarily deaf from Izzy's squeal and when I saw the inside of the shop, I understood exactly why.

It was two stories and vintage themed. There were dresses practically everywhere. Maxi, low-high, tribal print, denim, skirts, you name it. Upstairs, I could see long racks of even more clothes. Izzy gave me a sly smile and said, "We're going to have so much fun!"

"Oh, no. No, no, no." I groan. Why did I volunteer to go shopping? We were going to be stuck here for literally hours.

I walk slowly towards the changing rooms and sit obediently on the couch, waiting for Izzy to give me my first round of outfits.

* * *

"Ugh," Aiden groaned as he tried to balance the shopping bags while attempting to itch his nose. "They should make a rune for this. No man should ever have to go through that torture without some type of help, supernatural or not."

"Yeah," Julian agrees. "it should help your feet so they won't fall off after standing up for, what, two hours?"

"You guys are _Shadowhunters._ What happened to tough guys fighting demons?" Simon asks.

Julian gives him a pointed look. "We were in a _dress store,_ holding frilly, pink _dresses_ and critiqing girls _outfits_. And we were standing in a _neon_ pink and purple changing room for _two hours_. My feet hurt, my back is sore, my arms are full of bags of clothes that _aren't even mine._"

"Actually," Simon interjects. "Your feet hurt because your body weight is pushing on the ground and the ground is also pushing back and then so-"

Isabelle jumps and shrieks, scaring Simon who then drops his share of shopping bags. "Why me?" He whines.

Izzy ignores him and rolls her eyes. "Alec and Magnus are coming to the Institute tonight!"

"How lucky they are, they didn't have to do... this." Jace says as he waves his arms in the air. I hit his arm playfully and he grabs it, going down onto his knees. "Clary, I've been mortally wounded, I think you'll need to nurse me back to health and spoon feed me soup."

"I'm afraid I can't. You've spilled my clothes all over the ground." I smile as I run away. He catches up to me and grabs me around the waist and spins me around. My red hair goes flying everywhere and I see the setting sun behind it, making my hair look as if it's on fire.

Jace sets me down but I hold onto his arm once I see the ground spinning in circles. "Stand behind me, Clary." he hisses. My vision is still a little blurry and I laugh, thinking that he was just toying with me. "Do it _now_, Clary." His voice is cold, his loving, playing tone gone.

"I-I can't. The ground is still spinning." I say quietly. He sets his hand on my waist and pushes me gently toward what I assume is his back. My vision clears and I look around.

Everyone has formed an arc with Jace and I in the middle. He unsheaths two seraph blades and names them. I peek to the side of his body and see a figure walking slowly towards us. He's dragging another man behind him and I hear Simon suck in breath next to me.

Suddenly the man appears right in front of us and I gasp. Sebastian was standing not ten feet away from us. My heart starts pounding in my chest when I see him. He was wearing khakis and a light polo shirt. The casuality of his dress contrasted with his prisoner behind him.

It was Magnus.

* * *

**...disclaimer: As much as I wish, I do not own TMI or any of the characters, espcially Jace *tear***

**The restaurant (Kali's Court) is real and is so delish! I've been there and if you live near Baltimore or Fell's Point, you should really go there sometime!**

**I've seen some authors write songs that they listen to when writing so here are mine:  
**

**Royals-Lorde  
****Skinny Love-Birdy**  
Wrecking Ball-Miley Cyrus  
Jolene-Miley Cyrus (cover)  
Tennis Court-Lorde  
Feel again-OneRepublic

**Thanks for reading, review and let me know what you think! I love you darlings so much!**

**xx.**


	7. Chapter 7

**_Previously..._**

_Suddenly the man appears right in front of us and I gasp. Sebastian was standing not ten feet away from us. My heart starts pounding in my chest when I see him. He was wearing khakis and a light polo shirt. The casuality of his dress contrasted with his prisoner behind him._

_It was Magnus._

* * *

Sebastian threw his head back and his booming laugh echoed throughout the empty streets. "Shadowhunters! We meet again. Did you enjoy my... visit earlier?"

Jace's grip tightens on his blades and his knuckles turn white. "Whatever you're do-"

Before he can finish his sentence, Aiden takes a step forward. His face is red, and he sputters. "How-how _dare_ you break into our Institute, our _home_, and brush it off as if it was nothing? You're just a bloody moron and a-" Julian covers his mouth and shoves Aiden behind him. He whispers something in his ear and Aiden stops insulting Sebastian, but still looks infuriated.

Sebastian's smirk is still plastered onto his traitorous face. "Oh you naïve Shadowhunters. That was just a reminder for Clarissa. We had a talk before." He explains to us. "But do enlighten me," he drawls out. "where is my lovely sister? I know she's here."

"You're not having her. You'll have to get through all of us if you want her." Simon said confidentially.

"I don't think that will take long, especially with you, _mundie._" Sebastian smirks.

"Don't talk to him like that." Izzy snaps. "Just leave us already, Sebastian."

He snarls and tugs on the chain holding Magnus' hands together and he cries out in pain. "Tell me where Clarissa is and I will _gladly_ leave. I'll give you this warlock," he spits out. "in exchange for my dear sister. Brotherly love, isn't that right, Jace?"

Jace's jaw clenches and his hands twitch. I place my hands on the small of his back and his muscles instantly relax.

"No," Magnus croaks. "don't listen to him. Just leave, and tell Alec that-"

"Argh!" Sebastian screams as he pulls on his chains. Magnus groans and a tear falls from Izzy's eye, like a raindrop falling down a window.

And then I can't take it anymore.

"Take me!" I cry out as I step away from Jace. "Take me, Sebastian!"

A grin slowly spreads across his face. His gaze travels up and down my body and his triumphant looks like a hunter that finally shot his first bear. I shiver, but not from the cold.

"No, Clary," Jace hisses. "Stop being so _irrational_ and get back behind me."

"Oh Jace," Sebastian sighs. "Always the party pooper, aren't you?"

"Stop, you guys! Just stop, okay?" Izzy begs, tears streaming down her face. She covers her face with her hands and sobs rack her body._ "Captain Kirk, went to the planet, __and there he fought the man_ _lizard."_ Simon's ringtone sings "Mr. Spock" by the Nerf Herders. Jace loved to make fun of him about it.

"_What?_"Simon whispers into his phone. Whatever the person on the other end says makes his eyes widen. "Where are you? But... that makes no sense... Well I'm _sorry!_ I have to go now." And he shuts his phone abruptly. "Guys, Sebastian's not really here. It's a... projection of some sort."

"What do you mean, mundie?" Julian snaps.

"Hey, don't call him that!" I shout. "You act so superior to mundanes, but I'd take any mundie over you." Julian's face hardens and he turns away. Guiltily, I lean into Jace and close my eyes. What else could go wrong?

"...says that Magnus is safe and is with him. And I heard Shay and Ingrid there too so I'm pretty sure it wasn't fake." Simon explains.

Thoughtful, Jace walks over to the edge of the sidewalk and my heart skips a beat, thinking that he's going to Sebastian. I try to reach out and grab his arm, but he just bends down and picks up a pebble. He turns it around in his hand and stares at it like it's something he's been waiting his whole life for.

All the while, Sebastian is just curiously looking at us. He doesn't even look mad. Then in a sudden and abrupt movement, he lunges towards us. Just as quickly, Jace throws the small pebble at him and Sebastian and Magnus' bodies both started flickering. Still not admitting defeat, Sebastian just smiles. "You Shadowhunters will never outsmart me, you know that right? I'll always be one step ahead of you twits."

With these last words, Sebastian and the alleged Magnus disappear. For a few seconds, all you hear are Izzy's sobs and the quiet chirps of the crickets.

"Well," Aiden starts awkwardly. "I think we have a new David."

Simon laughs shakily. "David and Goliath. Rebecca used to tell that story to me when we were young."

"The underestimated boy defeats the giant," Julian muses. "maybe that could work."

Shaken, we all walked back to the bus stop. It was funny really. A bunch of tough Shadowhunters with (of course glarmored) weapons... riding public transportation.

"_Charm City Circulater,_" Simon read off the bus. "What is a charm city and what does it have to do with circulaters?"

"Charm City is another way to say Baltimore," Julian shrugs. "and this is the free bus. It started out just for the tourists, but the citizens loved it so they just made it a thing."

"And," Aiden adds. "it's bloody useful."

Simon rolls his eyes. "Vocabulary, Graymark! We have little ears listening." He pets me on the head, smiling teasingly at me. Glaring at him, I try to punch his arm, but he hids behind Julian, who was looking out the window, and I end up punching him in the gut.

"_Omph,_" Julian groans, clutching his stomach. Jace erupts into loud laughter and it makes me smile. I hadn't heard him that happy in a while. Granted, I felt bad that I had to punch someone to have him laugh, but it was nice.

* * *

"_What?!_" Shay shrieks. "You went shopping _and_ almost got into a fight? _Without me?!_" Enraged, she stomps to her room and Ingrid looks apologeticly at us.

"She loves getting into dangerous situations, varying from demons to 6 inch heels." Ingrid said.

Chuckling, Aiden follows after her to try to comfort her, I suppose.

"...I don't know, sandelwood is good, but I'm thinking more of a sweet chocolate scent."

"Come on, Magnus, that's not really very manly, you know." Isabelle sqeals and runs over to Alec, engulfing him in a affectionate hug. Looking surprised, he hesitates and then hugs her back with an ardor that could only be shown by a loving brother.

I walk over to Magnus and give him a hug. Getting on my tiptoes, I tell him, "I was so worried about you. I was really scared, you know."

Laughing he smiles. "Clary, you take after your mother. She was always worrying about you."

Clearing her throat behind us, I hear my mother and dread fills my stomach.

"Remember that call you were going to give me, Clary?"

* * *

**Woot, woot! Hooray for quick updates. Haha, but don't get used to it. I am very sleep deprived because of this chapter so please review and let me know what you think and what you want to see. Critique me, compliment me, just talk to me! :)**

**Danke, gracias, merci, thank you, thank you, and thank you to my lovelies!**

**xx.**


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